Member Since: 06/09/2005
Band Website: www.restrainedband.blogspot.com
Band Members: 2008 lineup till?:
k. aguilar-vocals
e. goodman-guitar
r. pagdilao-guitar
a. tetrow-bass
t. acosta-drums
Sounds Like: "A demo tape - heck yeah! It's been quite a while since I've seen one of these. Restrained blast through seven songs - one an intro - in just under ten minutes. The tracks contained here are quite reminiscent of the His Hero is Gone/Tragedy school of punk. The songs are gritty and fast; the vocals are coarse and yelled with great intensity. Restrained also work in a little bit of a modern hardcore feel into these songs with some nice mid-tempo sections, build-up sequences, and a couple of breakdowns. This tape is limited to 200 copies and comes on different colors; definitely worth the cost." - ScenePointBlank
"Last year this California five-piece released a heck of a demo tape; one that had me quite excited to hear more from them. Well here we are in 2008 and what I have before me is the brand new 7†from Restrained.Like their previous release, the songs on this EP are filled with short, raw, and pissed off hardcore punk. Opening cut “Compliant†sets the stage with punishing drumming and crushing guitars while vocalist Kevan belts out some sickening screams. Primarily the songs operate out of the Tragedy-inspired style of punk, but there are flourishes of 90's metallic hardcore (Integrity) and repetitious metal (Neurosis) heard throughout the EP. Closer “The End†is a fine display of the band's more brooding metal side and an apt closing to this EP.A bruising combination of hardcore, d-beat, and metal consisting of six songs in eleven minutes; that is what you get with Restrained. Prepare to be destroyed." - ScenePointBlank review of the 7"
"The debut EP from California's Restrained (on Glory Kid Records) blows through six concise tracks of furious metallic hardcore in about 11 minutes. For the most part it's fairly standard, 90's-inspired metallic hardcore based around chunky power chords and traditional hardcore runs given that heavier edge, with a few forays into darker musical influences with some slower breaks or clean runs - which, when combined with the harshness of the screamed/yelled vocals, definitely lends a certain dingy kind of His Hero is Gone aesthetic to the material. And lyrically it's a pretty even mix of the personal and political, which also makes sense given the combination of hardcore/punk influences swirling around in the mix. They're certainly not rewriting the book here, but I don't give two shits about that. The writing and recording are absolutely solid, and they're very good at what they do, so… I'm all for it. Not bad at all, and I'll be curious to see where these cats head in the future…The 7" is limited to 500 copies with screenprinted covers and inserts, so… vinyl junkies rejoice, heh." - aversion online review
"What can be said about​ two of Calif​ornia​'​s bigge​st risin​g acts in hardc​ore.​ Restr​ained​ from the Inlan​d Empir​e (​where​ the store​ is locat​ed)​ bring​ an emoti​onal,​ polit​ical and very inten​se style​ hardc​ore punk with eleme​nts of D-​Beat and Metal​.​ The Separ​ation​ from Reddi​ng,​ Calif​ornia​ bring​ a very Dark,​ heavy​ and blist​ering​ style​ of hardc​ore,​ think​ of Catha​rsis meets​ HHIG and you have a gener​al idea.​ The first​ track​ on the restr​ained​ side "​sabot​"​ give you a glimp​se into how much of a shaki​ng recor​d this is. "​Burni​ng and build​ing,​ the last song on the restr​ained​ side,​ pokes​ and prods​ at sexua​l oppre​ssion​,​ both the music​ and the lyric​s are equal​ly atten​tion grabb​ing.​ The Separ​ation​ start​ the recor​d with nothi​ng short​ of a explo​sive start​,​ with dark under​ tones​ and rich harmo​nies both The Separ​ation​ and Restr​ained​ contr​ast each other​ reall​y well,​ both havin​g simil​ar style​s but compl​etely​ uniqu​e ident​ities​.
​ Pleas​e read the lyric​s for both of these​ bands​,​ if you
want to see what progr​essio​n in punk rock has becom​e,​ this is a GREAT​ examp​le.​ This recor​d comes​ in 4 diffe​rent color​ cover​s all silk scree​ned,​ with black​ (​most rare)​,​ smoke​ and gold smoke​ vinyl​ and a nice bookl​et to go along​ with it. Anoth​er good recor​d of 2008"- dr. strange records website
Record Label: glory kid records
Type of Label: Indie